Rainbow Trout Provencale

Provencal cooking is all about letting a few bold Mediterranean ingredients shine, and this trout dish does exactly that. Fennel seeds, garlic, red bell pepper, and a splash of dry vermouth create a fragrant vegetable bed that the fillets steam over as they cook.

Tomato paste stirred into the vermouth gives the sauce a concentrated, sun-dried richness without making it heavy. The trout goes flesh-side down on the vegetables so it absorbs those flavors directly. In just a few minutes, the fish flakes cleanly and the vegetables are tender but still have some bite.

This is a genuinely light dinner. No breading, no deep pan of oil. Butter, vegetables, and wine do all the flavor work.

Pro Tips

• Check the trout after 1 minute of the second cook time. Thin fillets cook fast, and overcooked trout turns dry and chalky.
• Julienne the red pepper into thin, even strips so it softens at the same rate as the onion.
• If you don’t have vermouth, dry white wine works just as well. Avoid sweet wines here.

Variations

• Add sliced Kalamata olives and capers to the vegetable mixture for a more classic Nicoise flavor.
• Swap trout for salmon fillets, adding an extra minute of cooking time for thicker cuts.
• Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a drizzle of good olive oil right before serving.